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Advice on Becoming a Mobile App Developer

The incredible growth in mobile devices in the past five years has fueled app development to the point where iTunes and Google Play have turned the app universe into a new industry. In fact, this year both Apple and Google announced that 1 million apps are available for download from their respective app stores and—even more astounding—there have already been 60 billion apps downloads on iTunes alone. Not bad, considering that iTunes’ app store has only been in existence since 2008.

An app (short for application) is software that can run on a phone, tablet, or computer. The most popular apps are games, entertainment, tools/utilities, music, social networking, and productivity. Apps have become an indispensible part of many people’s everyday lives. It’s also become a multi-billion dollar business, generating revenue for Apple and Google and for app developers too, in the form of royalties. In 2012, Apple had already paid developers more than $6.5 billion in royalties. That number will certainly be much higher for 2013 and beyond.

How to Become An App Developer

Thousands of developers—both one-man shops and large corporations—have jumped into the app design and development field. With millions of apps available for download, the competition is fierce and the need for useful, well-written, and fully-tested programs has greatly increased.

However, designing and releasing an app is about more than just having a great idea. Becoming an app developer requires experience and a dedication to always improving upon your app programs to meet customers’ needs. You should have:

Education and Practical Experience. An undergraduate degree in software engineering, computer information systems, or information sciences will expose you to courses in database management, operating systems, systems design, and programming. Most degrees and programs will also require that you can demonstrate your knowledge through class projects and internships.

Programming Experience. App developers should know how to program in CCS3, HTML5, JavaScript, and Objective-C.

Design Skills. First, you must understand mobile platform APIs, such as Windows Mobile, Apple iOS, and Android. Once you’ve mastered that, next learn how to design an intuitive user interface that is easy to navigate using a tablet or phone.

Proper Certification. While certification is not required to develop and sell mobile apps, software companies are starting to require this extra step to be sure that designers have the necessary skills to work on complicated mobile designs. There are several mobile app certifications available through CompTIA, IBM, and others. You may consider this step if you’d like to design apps for larger clients.

Now, take your ideas and design an app using tools, like the ones provided by Apple and Intel, that will offer support, testing, and distribution assistance throughout the development process.

If you’d like to learn more about mobile app development, computer programming, or business information systems, RMU offers a B.S. in Computer Information Systems that will teach you the skills you’ll need to be successful, including classes that are specifically designed for those interested in mobile app development. Contact us today for more information.